Mavericks' demanding schedule creates a Kyrie Irving dilemma

For the first time all season, Dallas Mavericks star guard Kyrie Irving will play in a back-to-back on Monday. The Mavericks beat the Brooklyn Nets by 37 points on Sunday, and Kyrie scored 21 points on an efficient 9-of-15 shooting.

Many Mavs fans expected the nine-time All-Star to sit against the Indiana Pacers the following day, but Irving was not listed on the injury report. This came as a shock, as Kyrie sat out the first back-to-back of the season on October 24, and Dallas may need him to continue to play in many of these back-to-backs if they want a good chance of winning these games.

Dallas' schedule presents a unique challenge for Kyrie Irving

According to NBA.com's John Schuhmann, the Mavericks "are one of three teams with a league-high 14 rest-disadvantage games ." A rest-disadvantage game "is one where one team played the day/night before, but the other (the team with the advantage) did not."

The NBA schedule puts Dallas in a tough position, as 14 of Dallas' 16 league-high back-to-backs are when the other team was off the night before. This naturally gives their opponent an advantage, as they'll have considerably more rest, and it makes every decision with Kyrie more crucial.

Resting Irving would allow him to fully recover after playing in a game the night before, but it would leave the Mavericks without one of their stars against a rested opponent. Playing him, though, could make his workload too heavy.

The Mavericks can't afford to lose Irving again

Irving is vital to the Mavericks' success, as shown by their 6-2 record when he plays. He is easily the team's best shot creator, and his on-ball gravity helps create better looks for everyone around him.

They need him in the lineup as much as possible, but they also can't risk him getting reinjured. Dallas would crumble without Irving, and he missed all of last season with a torn ACL.

The last thing that the Mavericks need is for Kyrie to miss extended time, and this is why this unfortunate trend in the schedule puts both Irving and the Mavs in a challenging spot. They need him on the court to take pressure off Cooper Flagg and run the offense when needed, and Dallas' game plan looks much different when Kyrie is sidelined.

Dallas must find the right balance with Irving's workload

Dallas has to be smart about when to sit Irving, but even in some of the back-to-backs that he plays in, the Mavericks will already be at a disadvantage. The Mavs' loss to the Sacramento Kings last week without Kyrie showed how they can look without him, also serving as a lesson that they can't expect to win any game.

Dallas will continue to cautiously monitor Irving's workload moving forward, and his body's response to playing in this back-to-back should be a good indication of how the team will use him moving forward. The Mavericks need to do whatever they can to keep him healthy, but they also must ensure that they don't push him too hard.

This is a difficult tightrope to walk, especially with Dallas leading the league in rest-disadvantage games, and it'll be up to the medical staff, Kyrie's camp, and the Mavericks' coaching staff to find a good balance here. They can't afford to sit Irving every back-to-back, as their opponent is going to be rested most of the time, but they also can't put Irving in a position where he is at a higher risk of getting reinjured.

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